The widest open of this weekend’s big races for 3-year-olds is Saturday’s $600,000 Jim Dandy at Saratoga. The 49th renewal has attracted several graded stakes winners, but the top two sophomores are headed to Monmouth on Sunday for the 45th running of the $1 million Haskell Invitational. The Jim Dandy will be loaded with an […]

Losing the Belmont Stakes favorite to injury the day before the race casts an unequivocal gloom over Belmont Park.  Lately, horse racing in New York has been taking a lot of punches.  Following a state crackdown on the industry, threats of a union strike, and pending government overhaul of the association that operates the state’s […]

Coming in shocking style this morning, Belmont Stakes favorite I’ll Have Another scratched from the Belmont Stakes tomorrow, officially ending his pursuit of the Triple Crown.  In an interview, trainer Doug O’Neil cited tendonitis in his front left leg that was severe enough to keep him from running for history.  O’Neil also shared that they […]

I have to say that I’ll Have Another has been interesting. Doug O’Neill has captivated me with his lingo, and Mario Gutierrez has been an inspiration for every small track rider around the world. Now, toss in Mr. Reddam who was asked if he made more money on the purse, or did he do better […]

Tight security measures for the 2012 Belmont Stakes starters have many wondering how settled in and comfortable the horses have been in the days leading up to the race.  Their detention barn type of lockdown is nothing permanent, and in less than a week, they will most likely be moved out and moving on. For […]

Belmont Stakes Honored Track Founder’s Old Friend Flamboyant financier Leonard W. Jerome and well-heeled friends, including banker August Belmont Sr., built a racetrack in the Bronx that opened on Sept. 25, 1866. The crowd at Jerome Park, named for its founder, included Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and members of New York’s fashionable society. It was […]

Another 3-Year-Old Chases Elusive Triple Crown By GREG MELIKOV Nineteen times since World War II horses went into the Belmont Stakes and a possible date with destiny to become a Triple Crown champion. Nineteen times the racing gods crushed dreams since 1944 when Pensive lost by a half-length to Bounding Home. Actually, Belmont Park has […]

While the 2012 Kentucky Derby is in the books, there are still horses looking to make their way to the Triple Crown races, and the Peter Pan Stakes this weekend often acts as a stepping stone prep race to the Belmont Stakes in June. Several horses that were once Derby prospects are taking a “better […]

I bet Animal Kingdom. Flat out, and no take backs…. I thought he fit, and his pedigree screamed run all day. But, when you run into a mishap into the turn. Well, you have to take it and move on. Right as the runners came past the grandstand, he almost went down. This gave me […]

Since the first Saturday in May, even the slightest of fans became interested. It lived up to incredible billing, and did not disappoint those who cashed at the windows.  The Triple Crown is officially over. So, what to look forward to next? – Great summer racing, turf racing, and some of the biggest pots until […]